Martin Kersels gave us his 1996 McMaster-Carr catalog! Oh my god, I’m literally trembling. This is a piece of art history, folks. This is THE catalog Martin used & consulted whilst constructing most of his early contraptions, sculptures, and installations. It also includes a (partial) list of the things he’s ordered from this catalog… many of which are immediately identifiable to fans of Martin’s work. Thanks Martin, this is amazing!

Did you know that Mark has the most beautiful handwriting we’ve ever seen? You’ve got to see it to believe it… it’s like 18th century penmanship. Crazy. Mark contributed a copy of “Black Like You,” a history of blackface & whiteface in American history. Included is a hand-written note by Mark with beautiful doodle drawings in the margins. We love you, Mark… thanks!

Andrea Bowers donated an enhanced version of the “Earth First Direct Action Manual.” Andrea’s work for the past 5 years of so has investigated the strategic use of both violence & non-violence in civil disobedience. This could be yours if you come to Bookmeat.

We’re blown away by Carmen’s amazing & hand-made book: full of portraits she did of characters whilst watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy! Holy fan art, Batman! Life and art intertwined — a day of watching movies beautifully recorded by Carmen for Bookmeat. This could be yours… if you come to Bookmeat!

Artist Kim MacConnel gave us a treasured copy of Mythologies by Roland Barthes that he kept in the trunk of his first car: a 1967 Citroen. Or, is it a replica of a long-lost favorite book that (you guessed it) was kept in the trunk of MacConnel’s car? When you read his explanatory note tucked inside, it actually makes a whole lot of sense. Includes simulated grease stains, hand-written notes, a photo of MacConnel’s first car, and a Citroen rubber gasket in original packaging.

Kim MacConnel is a San Diego based painter and seminal member of the Pattern & Decoration movement. His work is trademarked with brightly colored, loosely rendered patterns borrowed from other cultures or invented, as well as cartoonish clip-art images of contemporary American life and technology. Since the mid 70s, he has been educating students at University of California in San Diego where he has recently retired. He is represented by Rosamund Felsen Gallery in Santa Monica.

The books for Bookmeat are steadily coming in. We’re speechless by the outpouring of support from the artworld’s best and brightest. We asked artist for their favorite book. What we’ve been getting (in many cases) are original artworks made out of their favorite books.

Case in point: Christopher Russell. 2009 was a pretty darn incredible year for Christopher, starting off with his first ever solo museum show at The Hammer. Artillery Mag summed things up nicely, “Christopher Russell is everywhere these days. In order to catch up with him, you may have to stalk him.”

For Bookmeat, Christopher donated a dog-eared and heavily-annotated copy of Les Chants de Maldoror by Comte de Lautréamont — the vivid and violent 19th century poetic novel that Salvador Dalí, André Breton, Antonin Artaud, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, and Max Ernst each cited as a major influence on their development.

Christopher altered several pages with this shark motif… half way thru the book, the pages appear to have been eaten. Without giving too much away, Christopher’s “secret inscription” speaks of discovering and devouring this seminal proto-surrealist book during his formative years in Sacramento.

Written in 1869, one year before Lautréamont’s tragic and mysterious death at age 24, Maldoror’s lead character is a figure of absolute evil who is opposed to God and humanity, and has renounced conventional morality and decency. The book combines a violent narrative with vivid and often surrealistic imagery, and begins with a warning to readers:

“God grant that the reader, emboldened and having become at present as fierce as what he is reading, find, without loss of bearings, his way, his wild and treacherous passage through the desolate swamps of these sombre, poison-soaked pages; for, unless he should bring to his reading a rigorous logic and a sustained mental effort at least as strong as his distrust, the lethal fumes of this book shall dissolve his soul as water does sugar.”

Who’s donating books to Bookmeat? Who’s NOT donating is probably a shorter answer! We’ve assembled over 200 of the artworld’s best & brightest, including Swiss curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, the “most powerful figure in the international art world.” Also on board are 2008 Whitney Biennial Artists Edgar Arceneaux, Ry Rocklen, Rodney McMillian, James Welling, Walead Beshty, Fritz Haeg, Alice Könitz, and Mario Ybarra, Jr. Which brings us to one of LA’s most favorite and beloved artists — 2009 MacArthur Fellow Mark Bradford. We’re all so darn proud of Mark, and we’re really thrilled that he’s part of Bookmeat. So, what book moves a MacArthur Genius? Come to Bookmeat and find out!

Bookmeat – A benefit for Side Street Projects
Saturday, November 21st (6pm-10pm)
“The Brick Building”
8870 Washington Blvd
(Between Robertson & National, next door to the Royal/T)
Culver City, CA 90232

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Tickets are $100 ($75 tax deductible)

- Or call (626) 798-7774 -

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Join LA’s most intriguing & celebrated artists, writers and curators for a most unusual silent auction. Each has contributed a book from their private collection that influenced their life’s work. Tucked inside each book — for the buyer’s eyes only — is an autograph and secret inscription from the contributor explaining the book’s significance. Most starting bids are $75.

Bookmeat – A fundraiser for Side Street Projects
“The Brick Building”
8870 Washington Blvd
(Between Robertson & National, next door to the Royal/T)
Culver City, CA 90232

An Illustrated Guide to Bookmeat Ticket Prices

Books Contributed By (list in formation): Danielle Adair, Rheim Alkadhi, Stacey Allan, Mark Allen, Rachel Allen, Kathryn Andrews, Edgar Arceneaux, Carmen Argote, Joshua Aster, Karen Atkinson, Lisa Anne Auerbach, Judy Baca, Jennifer Bain, Judie Bamber, Elise Barclay, Kelly Barrie, Tanya Batura, Dan Bayles, Justin Beal, Todd Becraft, Jay Belloli, Stacen Berg, Walead Beshty, Ellen Birrell, Andrea Bowers, Mark Bradford, Nancy Braver, Brian Bress, Kaucyila Brooke, Jane Brown, Annie Buckley, Tim Buggs, David Burns, Brian Butler, Ingrid Calame, Joshua Callaghan, Jane Callister, Heather Cantrell, Juan Capistran, Carolyn Castano, Enrique Castrejon, Tom Christie, Caryn Coleman, Ginny Cook, William Cordova, Kate Costello, Charlotte Cotton, Zoe Crosher, Russell Crotty, Robert Crouch, Christian Cummings, Dorit Cypis, Lavi Daniel, Julie Deamer, Chelsea Dean, Michael Dee, Tomory Dodge, Zackary Drucker, Sam Durant, Martin Durazo, Ciara Ennis, Okwui Enwezor, Jori Finkel, Chris Finley, Sinead Finnerty-Pyne, Lauri Firstenberg, Eve Fowler, Charles Gaines, Harry Gamboa Jr., Ken Gonzales-Day, Rita Gonzalez, Alexandra Grant, Emma Gray, Amy Green, Phyllis Green, Mark Greenfield, Katie Grinnan, Sherin Guirguis, Liz Gylnn, Fritz Haeg, Emilie Halpern, Lynn Hanson, Doug Harvey, Marc Herbst, Robby Herbst, Katie Herzog, Leslie Hewitt, Michael Ned Holte, Violet Hopkins, Bettina Hubby, Salomon Huerta, Steven Hull, Emily Joyce, Vish Jugdeo, Glenn Kaino, Naima Keith, Martin Kersels, Byron Kim, Carol Ann Klondaries, Alice Könitz, David Korty, Olga Koumoundouros, Kris Kuramitsu, Annie Lapin, Elad Lassry, Tom Lawson, Julie Lazar, Julie Lequin, Katie Lewis, Karen Liebowitz, Glenn Ligon, Jed Lind, Matt Lipps, Mara Lonner, Renée Lotenero, Jean Lowe, Shana Lutker, Nathan Mabry, Kim MacConnel, Dana Maiden, Elana Mann, Michael Markowsky, Carolyn Mason, Anna Mayer, Barry McGee, Thomas McKenzie, Rodney McMillian, Lisa Melandri, Yunhee Min, Jessica Minckley, Aaron Morse, Aram Moshayedi, Sandeep Mukherjee, Holly Myers, Tucker Neel, Kori Newkirk, Jill Newman, Gaston Nogues, Laurie Nye, Pat O’Neill, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Robert Olsen, Julie Orser, Ruben Ortiz-Torres, Kaz Oshiro, Laura Owens, Marc Pally, Jorge Pardo, Anthony Pearson, Hirsch Perlman, Renée Petropoulos, Calvin Phelps, Kelly Poe, Stephanie Pryor, Jessica Rath, Marco Rios, John Robertson, Ry Rocklen, Steve Roden, Brett Cody Rogers, Emily Roysdon, Christopher Russell, Analia Saban, Shizu Saldamando, Aaron Sandnes, Melanie Schiff, Maya Schindler, Kim Schoen, Kim Schoenstadt, Kyungmi Shin, Susan Silton, Alexis Smith, Michael Smoler, Jill Spector, Carol Stakenas, Tyler Stallings, Jennifer Steinkamp, Kirsten Stoltmann, Tamara Sussman, Catherine Taft, Ami Tallman, Joel Tauber, Ed Templeton, Melissa Thorne, Pilar Tompkins, Irene Tsatos, Geoff Tuck, Jan Tumlir, Kaari Upson, Jeffrey Vallance, Monique van Genderen, Tam Van Tran, Anton Vidokle, Matias Viegener, Mary Weatherford, Dawson Weber, Marnie Weber, James Welling, Jennifer West, Pae White, Charlie White, Carrie Whitney, Millie Wilson, Rosha Yaghmai, Mario Ybarra Jr., Liz Young, Carrie Yury, HK Zamani, Bari Ziperstein

Please join us in thanking those who made Bookmeat possible…

Patrons: Nooshin Malakzad, Wendy Munger & Leonard Gumport, Peggy Phelps, Susan & John Caldwell, Joan Palmer, Janine & Tony Perron, Dianne M. Magee, Clare & Chris Tayback, Dr. Sujal & Kelly Mandavia, Paul & Lizzie Salvati, Vern & Marsha Bohr, Joe Lewis, Bob & Patty Zuber, Olin Barrett & Ann Dobson Barrett, Maureen Carlson, Dan & Diana Attias, Summer Art Academy, Elinor & Rubin Turner, Edwina & David Dedlow – FormSolver Inc., Katherine Gillespie, Susan & Jim Crawford, Kate & Leonardo Clavijo.

Steering Committee: Ed Schad (The Broad Art Foundation), Melissa Goldberg (ForYourArt.com), Jay Belloli (Armory Center for the Arts), Eungie Joo (New Museum), Liza Simone (Phantom Galleries), Karen Rapp (Vincent Price Gallery and Art Museum @ ELAC), Susan Yank (Hammer Museum), Elise Barclay (O’Melveny & Myers LLP), Pilar Tompkins (Claremont Museum of Art) Sinéad Finnerty-Pyne (Armory Center for the Arts), Janine Perron (Hammer Museum, Side Street Projects Board), Bari Ziperstein (Artist, Side Street Projects Board), Lorraine Molina (LM Projects, Side Street Projects Board), Diane Magee (Side Street Projects Board).

Event & Media Sponsors: Nooshin Inc., Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Honest Tea, Large Marge Sustainables, ForYourArt, DubLab, Savings.com, Event planning courtesy of Pink Cloud Events. Design and marketing courtesy of The Groop.

Special thanks to Nooshin & Narda Malakzad, Sarah Shewey, Bari Ziperstein, Brady Westwater, The City of Culver City, Susan Obrow, Minuteman Press of Glendale, Jose Caballer, and Aure Gimon. Side Street Projects is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit community art organization. All donations to Side Street Projects are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Federal Tax ID# 95-4395168.

Much thanks to all our friends who came out today, despite the near 100 degree temps. About 200 folks came by, pitched in, and planted the southern wall of The Armadillo. Much thanks to our fabu staff, and our friend Kate for all your hard work. Today was pretty sweet.

Planted